Package and Accessories:

The Project M's aesthetics and packaging exude confidence and elegance.

From the get-go, the Project M does not hide anything-- not even its technical specifications and frequency response-- with all of these data printed on the outer box. Inside is a custom Systainer carrying case, a reasonably pliant cable with interchangeable 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs (lovingly called the "Awesome Plug 2"), standard product documentation, a full set of glow-in-the dark Final Audio Type E Eartips specially made for the Project M, and the IEMs themselves. These all share a minimalist monochrome color scheme with an industrial style.

The IEMs themselves have nothing to hide (in a good way). They have a transparent shell of filled resin that proudly displays the drivers and circuitry. The build seems superb, with the IEMs not feeling hollow or flimsy to the touch. They even make a satisfying clack when hitting another hard surface.



Fit and Comfort:

The Project M is a small IEM with a 5mm nozzle. With both the included Final Audio Type E eartips and my standard set of eartips, I had no problems getting a deep fit into my oversized ears with tiny ear canals. Once in, they almost disappear into my ear and I can wear them for extended periods without any discomfort or pressure buildup.



Sound Signature/Timbre:

I perceive the Project M as a bright neutral IEM, although based on how one perceives its bass and treble, I am not surprised if one considers it a bright tilted U-shape or mild-V shape. A graph is provided in the outer packaging for those interested.

As discussed below, the Project M is a good execution of a bright neutral tuning with some tasteful colorations that keep it from sounding too lean or sterile. However, it has a mild metalic timbre that may be of concern, though it may be remedied with tiprolling.

Bass:

The Project M's bass is clean and well-extended with a fair subbass-midbass ratio that hits deep and hits hard. Its sub-bass has sufficient rumble with a satisfying decay expected out of a dynamic driver; for instance, EDM tracks with long drops will resolve fully and with a level of tactility. It has a slight bump in the midbass and upper bass that ensures that instruments in these frequencies are well-textured and full-bodied, and contribute a level of warmth to the lower midrange without muddying it up.

However, at an approximate 5 dB maximum bass rise, this may not have the quantity of bass that will satisfy ardent bassheads seeking to satiate their low-end cravings.

Midrange:

The Project M's midrange is generally neutral with some tasteful colorations. Male and female vocals have a full-bodied, chesty character, while most instruments sound about right. The bump in the midbass and upperbass contributes some warmth to the lower midrange. Upper mids are forward and energetic without being shouty, owing to a slightly conservative pinna gain.

Treble:

The Project M's treble is the most polarizing aspect of its tuning. The mild metallic timbre mentioned above manifests in this region through several peaks in the response that may be perceived as excess energy in the trailing ends of some tones (e.g., exaggerated decay or sizzle in hi-hats and cymbals and pronounced plosives in vocals). Treble-sensitives may consider these peaks either distracting or even sibilant. This mars what would otherwise be a smooth and airy treble presentation.

However, the Project M has a sufficiently meaty low-end response to balance out the treble and prevent it from sounding thin or sterile. Moreover, I find that the excess energy may be mitigated by tiprolling, or rather, by not tiprolling, as I get the smoothest treble response with the included Final Audio E eartips.

Technicalities:

The Project M indexes high in most areas I consider "technicalities"-- staging, imaging, clarity, transient character, and dynamics. It has an above-average soundstage for an IEM, with a slightly out-of-head presentation with about even width, depth, and height. Instruments meshed well into the overall reproduction of the track but remained easy to pinpoint within the soundstage. Audibles were clearly heard down to the transient parts of tones, with transients being crisp in character. It was also able to reproduce volume swings within songs and across instruments.

However, I find that the driver has limits in terms of "speed" as it was barely able to keep up with some very busy / fast songs, where I perceive hints of several notes blending (but these are very niche that these may not be a problem for most).

Notable Results from Test Tracks (links to either Youtube or Spotify):

• The Poet and the Pendulum (Nightwish’s Wembley Live version) – I use this as one of my primary test tracks as it tests almost every audio-related metric-- male vocals, female vocals, staging, and so on. The Project M was able to layer the various vocalists and instruments precisely within the soundstage, which reasonably corresponds to their positions in the official live video. It was in this song where I was able to detect the mild metallic timbre when Floor and Tuomas pronounced plosives when singing high notes, and in some of the louder cymbal hits.
• Brink of Death (Chrono Cross OST) – I use this song to test staging and to some extent, dynamics. Throughout the song, there are percussive instruments (likely bongos) at the left side of the rear of the perceived soundstage which vary in volume. The Project M was able to place these instruments at that expected location, and reasonably handle the volume swings of these instruments.
• Xronier (Camellia’s Xronial Xero album) – I use this song to test the perceived speed of a driver. This is a speedcore song with an absurdly high BPM count. Its percussion can be difficult to satisfingly reproduce with a transducer given the rapidfire speed-- the percussive hits have to be rendered distinctly without blending into each other or the rest of the song's instruments, while being reasonably tactile in the subbass. Not a lot of IEMs have been able to reproduce this song nicely for my tastes, with those few including the Symphonium Crimson. The Project M is not one of those transducers, as there is some blending-- the driver sounds like it is straining itself trying to keep up at times. Be advised, however, that this is a niche track that most will not listen to.

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